About this episode

Emily Renk Hawthorne discusses her journey from dentist to fantasy author, exploring themes of identity and creativity.

Sponsored by The Mountain Air | Sponsored by Benny’s Pizza | SLOFreeParking What happens when a dentist with a stable career, a family, and a very responsible life realizes there is also a fantasy author living inside her who wants to write about shapeshifters, stolen magic, secret societies, and Chinese mythology? San Luis Obispo author Emily Renk Hawthorne joins Adam to talk about the creative dream she could not shake and the work it took to finally let it out. Emily shares how her Taiwanese heritage and California upbringing helped inspire the Of Mountains and Seas series, why shapeshifting became the perfect way to explore identity and belonging, and how a childhood spent loving fantasy eventually led her to create the kind of world she once wished she could see herself in. They also get into the less magical side of writing a book: building a habit, writing when inspiration disappears, finding accountability at a local café, balancing creativity with dentistry and motherhood, and discovering an unexpectedly supportive literary community on the Central Coast. Emily opens up about her dream of becoming a full-time author, the genres she wants to explore next, and what she…

People in this episode

Host: Adam Montiel

Guest: Emily Renk Hawthorne

Topics covered

• dentistry
• fantasy writing
• identity
• Taiwanese heritage
• creative process
• literary community

Keywords

• dentist
• fantasy author
• shapeshifters
• Chinese mythology
• writing process
• identity
• literary community

Sponsors

The Mountain Air, Benny’s Pizza

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Of Mountains and Seas

Places: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast

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